Doing Household Chores Can Help You Burn Some Calories

You know that exercise is an important part of any healthy diet plan, but some days it can be hard to work in your workout time when you have so much to do around your home. Here’s some good news: studies show that with a little extra effort, your chores can help you burn some calories.
　　
And losing weight is all about the calories. So why not burn them up while keeping your house clean? Here are some calorie-burning household chores and extra tips to help you use them.
　　
If you don’t want to hit the gym this weekend, stay home and do some chores instead. Doing household chores regularly can help you stay in shape while keeping your house neat and clean.
　　
There are a lot of procedures that can be done to your body to lose weight. There are also different pills and medicines that could help in losing weight but these things cost money. These procedures can be really expensive so looking for alternatives will be a good idea. Looking free ways to lose weight is even better than looking for cheaper ways. This way you will be losing weight without paying for anything. One way to do it would be to do your household chores but how to lose weight doing household chores?

A Little Extra Effort Can Help You Lose Weight
　　
When you do the following chores, you need to make them last a little longer while also maintaining an increased intensity of pace in order to lose weight. In other words, to burn calories while doing your chores, you have to do them with an eye for effort (focus on your muscles), pace (do them a bit more quickly) and duration (for a longer period of time). Putting on headphones or a CD player and blasting your favorite music will energize you and make the activities a lot more enjoyable.
　　
The following estimates of calories burned per chore are based on a person who weighs 150 pounds doing an activity at an increased intensity for 30 minutes. As with any part of your healthy weight loss program, results will vary from person to person.
　　
You don't have to go to the gym, jog or play sports to burn calories. You have plenty of opportunities just doing housework and yard chores.
　　
You probably already know if you want to lose weight how you have to burn more calories each week than you eat. This can be done by a variety of activities, such as working out at the gym, bicycling, swimming, and playing sports, etc.
　　
Unfortunately, buying expensive exercise equipment or investing money in a gym membership isn’t feasible for everyone. What’s more, some people feel they're are too busy to find time for a work out. If you don’t have the time or money to invest in fitness, it’s easy to excuse yourself from exercising.
　　
True, it helps to have a planned activity. But just by working hard in the house and yard you can burn about as many calories as walking on a treadmill for the same amount of time. Yes, all those mundane household chores you do at home daily count in burning a significant amount of calories.
　　
Washing the car. A nice activity that gets you outside for some good Vitamin D from the sun, washing the car can burn 153 calories to help you reach your weight loss goals. Again, your whole body is used as you crouch down to get the tires and stretch fully over the top of the car and the hood. This activity will definitely take you 30 minutes if not more and you will feel the burn by the end of it if you do it vigorously enough. Change the arm that’s holding the sponge to get even activity for each arm and remember to wear sunscreen, if you’re in the sun.
　　
Mowing the lawn. Walking is always recommended for a healthy weight loss program. Pushing the lawnmower around your property gives you this opportunity and can burn 162 calories to get you closer to your goal. You’re getting in a more intense walk than if you just added walking to your program. You also engage your arms and core muscles as you naturally stabilize and coordinate your movements.
　　
Gardening. Not only is gardening an art that can also be a form of organic farming, but it also burns 162 calories to boost your weight loss program. Carrying new plants and flowers to their designated spots gives you some lifting and some cardio. If you do have an organic garden, gathering and carrying food to use in your healthy diet plan is exercise too. Plus, gardening really is a terrific way to commune with nature. Remember; always lift with your legs, not with your back.
　　
Raking leaves. Again, large movements translate into large number of calories burned; shed 171 calories by raking leaves and you just reach your weight loss goal more quickly. Here you get more of that natural Vitamin D from the sun, too.
　　
Scrubbing floors. Really use your muscles when you scrub floors to burn 189 calories and scrub your way to a leaner and more healthy body. Sitting on your heels, take the sponge in both hands and scrub forward, away from your body. Let your rear end come up off your heels. Then scrub back towards you and sit down on your heels again. Do this in different angles away from your body. This movement gives you great cardio and works those tummy muscles too.
　　
Moving around furniture. Ready to redecorate? Moving your couch, chairs, dining room table, bed and other furniture burns 225 calories and gives you a new environment to inspire and encourage you as you lose weight.

Dining At Your Desk Can Create A Field Day For Bacteria

While it's most important for an employer to provide a safe and healthy workplace, it's also important to encourage healthy lifestyles among their employees. Healthy eating programs can be a great first step. They can bring lots of people together to learn how to improve their health both at work and at home. As always, these programs should be part of a complete workplace health program and should not take resources or attention away from workplace hazards that may be present.You rush off with no breakfast. By morning tea time you’re onto your third coffee. Since it’s a tea break you go for a large creamy latté and a big muffin.
　　
Lunch rolls around and you grab something quickly without thinking. By afternoon you’re feeling tired and groggy, so you go hit the snack box or vending machine and gulp down a Red Bull.
　　
Welcome to the busy working lifestyle – where the combination of poor nutrition and high stress make for a sick and tired person – and most probably overweight as well.
　　
It's easy to fit healthy eating into your busy lifestyle. These 10 strategies will help you create nutritious, energy-boosting meals in minutes. For those of you trying to eat healthier, one of the biggest places to slip up is at work. There's more temptation to eat out, mindlessly eat, or, not eat at all. To make matters worse, many people never even leave their desks when lunchtime rolls around. If you're trying to change your eating habits this year, here are a few tips to ensure that you have a healthy lunch hour.
　　
1. Stock up on healthy staples every week. Whole-grain breads and cereals, fruits, vegetables, canned beans, low-sodium deli meats, yogurt and low-sodium soup will make meal preparation a snap.
　　
2. While dinner is cooking, prepare lunch for the next day. Toss in a few extra handfuls of veggies or an extra chicken breast to use for sandwiches and salads.
　　
3. At work keep a stash of healthy snack items such as instant oatmeal, baby carrots, yogurt, low-fat frozen burritos, meal-replacement bars, string cheese, low-fat popcorn and fruit canned in its own juice.
　　
4. Always add color to your meal by including a fruit or vegetable.
　　
"Eating at your desk encourages mindless eating, and overeating," says Susan Moores, RD, a spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association. "You're most likely multitasking and not paying attention to the amount of food you're eating."
　　
Lunching at your desk also means that instead of sitting in front of a computer for eight hours a day, you're doing it for nine.
　　
"Eating at your desk also prevents you from getting up and out of your office," Moores tells WebMD. "You need to get the heart pumping and the blood flowing again, and lunch is an important time to do that. If you're sitting at your desk eating, you lose that opportunity."
　　
As if that weren't bad enough, dining at your desk can create a field day for bacteria.
　　
"If you get called away from your desk, and then you have to put off eating for an hour or two, and then you pick at your lunch over the day, you need to be concerned about the temperature of your food and food safety," says Moores.
　　
In other words, your room-temperature chicken salad sandwich that's been sitting out for three hours can easily become a bacteria feeding ground. But wait, it gets worse. (You might want to put that sandwich down now.)
　　
"The desk, in terms of bacteria, is 400 times more dirty than your toilet," says Charles Gerba, PhD, a professor of environmental microbiology at the University of Arizona in Tucson. "People turn their desks into bacteria cafeterias because they eat at them, but they never clean them. The phone is the dirtiest, the desktop is next, and the mouse and the computer follow."
　　
To give your desktop the dirt test, Gerba says, "turn your keyboard over and see how many crumbs fall out. The more of a snowstorm, the dirtier your desk."

Key Nutrients Are Essential For The Old People

For older adults, the benefits of healthy eating include increased mental acuteness, resistance to illness and disease, higher energy levels, faster recuperation times, and better management of chronic health problems. As we age, eating well can also be the key to a positive outlook and staying emotionally balanced.
　　
Remember the old adage, you are what you eat? Make it your motto. When you choose a variety of colorful fruits and veggies, whole grains, and lean proteins you’ll feel simply marvelous inside and out.
　　
Live longer and stronger – Good nutrition keeps muscles, bones, organs, and other body parts strong for the long haul. Eating vitamin-rich food boosts immunity and fights illness-causing toxins. A proper diet reduces the risk of heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, type-2 diabetes, bone loss, cancer, and anemia. Also, eating sensibly means consuming fewer calories and more nutrient-dense foods, keeping weight in check.
　　
Sharpen the mind –Key nutrients are essential for the brain to do its job. People who eat a selection of brightly colored fruit, leafy veggies, and fish and nuts packed with omega-3 fatty acids can improve focus and decrease their risk of Alzheimer’s disease.
　　
Feel better –Wholesome meals give you more energy and help you look better, resulting in a self-esteem boost. It’s all connected—when your body feels good you feel happier inside and out.
　　
To meet your nutritional needs, aim to eat a varied dietincluding regular meals and snacks, and drink enough fluid.
　　
Sometimes older people can no longer eat as much food at a single sitting, so include more nutritious snacks in between meals to boost nutrient intake.
　　
Ideas for quick and nourishing snacks:
　　
Sandwiches filled with cooked meat, bacon, tinned fish, cheese or peanut butter. Use different breads for variety and add pickles, relish and sauces.
　　
Toast with pilchards, sardines, beans, cheese, ravioli, tinned spaghetti or well-cooked eggs.
　　
Crackers or digestive biscuits topped with cheese, toasted crumpets, teacakes, yoghurt, fruit, malt loaf, fruit cake, breakfast cereals or soup.
　　
An increase in starchy, fibre-providing foods and a reduction in fatty and sugary foods is likely to be beneficial, particularly if individuals are overweight.
　　
However, a low-fat, high-fibre diet is not appropriate for all elderly people, especially those with repeated infections, generally poor health or a poor appetite. As discussed above, it is important that older people choose a nutrient rich diet, high in foods providing protein, vitamins and minerals such as milk and dairy products, meat, eggs, fish, bread, cereals, and fruit and vegetables.
　　
A varied diet will also help to ensure adequate nutritional intake.
　　
Snacks can be an important part of the diet in older age groups, particularly for those unable to cope with large meals at one sitting.
　　
Dairy products such as milk provide an excellent way to provide a nutrient rich snack along with fluid in individuals who are struggling to meet their requirements.
　　
The senses of taste and smell decline with age, which can make food seem less appetising. Using different colours and shapes in cooking can stimulate the senses and add to eating enjoyment. The addition of herbs and spices can also make food more interesting.
　　
It is a good idea for older people to keep an emergency store of some basic foods items for times when it is difficult for them to get to the shops. Useful store cupboard items include:
　　
Research shows that remaining active can help to maintain both mental and physical health. Keeping up the activities you enjoy doing will help to maintain physical fitness and preserve muscle tissue. Preserving your strength will help to maintain your independence. Remember, activity doesn't necessarily mean joining an exercise class. Gardening, walking to the shops and housework can all count as types of activity too.
　　
Energy requirements can decline with age, particularly if physical activity is limited, but the need for protein, vitamins and minerals remains the same. It's vital that food choices are nutritionally dense, which means you still need to eat a variety of foods to get all the vitamins and minerals you need, but with fewer calories. If you're overweight or obese, it's even more important to be calorie conscious.
　　
Advice to restrict fat intake, particularly cutting saturated fatto improve heart health, remains true for older people who are fit and well. A dietary survey of older people showed most eat too much saturated fat. Above the age of 75, fat restriction is less likely to be beneficial, and isn't appropriate if the person is frail, has suffered weight loss or has a very small appetite. In fact, in these situations additional fat may be used to increase the calories in meals and snacks to aid weight gain. Read our tips fortackling nutritional problems for older people.